View allAll Photos Tagged deepskyobject
Heart Nebula (IC 1805/Sh2-190) and Fishhead Nebula (IC 1795)
The Heart Nebula and Fishhead Nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia.
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Location: Montclair, California, USA (Bortle 8)
Date: January 2, 2022
Moon: New Moon
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC Pro
Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 61II APO f/5.9
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics FLAT61A Field Flattener
Filter: Optolong L-eXtreme 2”
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini
Guide Scope: William Optics UniGuide 32 f/3.75
Camera Settings: Gain 100 | f/5.9 | 5 min
Acquisition: 37 x 5 min Lights | 50 Darks | 100 Bias
Integration Time: 3 hrs 5 min
Software: ZWO ASIAIR PRO, PixInsight, Adobe Lightroom Classic
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Copyright © 2022 Steven K. Wu Photography. All Rights Reserved.
COMMON NAME:
NAME:
PN G#:
CLASS:
TYPE:
MAGNITUDE:
CENTRAL STAR MAG.:
CONSTELLATION:
POSITION (2000.0):
URANOMETRIA 2000.0 MAP:
SIZE:
DISTANCE (parsecs):
REFERANCE:
DATE:
TIME:
PLACE: Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, Namibia, Africa
INSTRUMENT: 12 Inch (30 cm) Meade LX200 SCT
FOCAL RATIO: f/6.3
ACCESSORIES: Meade 0.63x reducer
MOUNT: Meade Altazimut
CAMERA: Canon 60Da
EXPOSURE:
SUBS:
ISO:
The image is taken using -
SW HEQ5pro
Orion ED80
Orion 50mm Guidescope
Canon 70D imaging camera
ASI120mm mini guide camera
.
.
Software Used -
Sharpcap for polar alignment
PHD2 for guiding
DSS for stacking
Photoshop and Lightroom for Post processing.
Helix Nebula (IC 7293), 09/03/2021
Headed up to my buddy’s property in Orofino Idaho last weekend for some light boozing and shenanigans with a bunch of friends. I took the telescope as well on the off chance there were clear skies, and I wasn’t too far gone to use it. On the first night I was able to capture this before skies and my brain got too hazy to do any more.
This is the Helix Nebula. For obvious reasons it is very often called the “Eye of God” nebula. It is found in the constellation Aquarius and is probably the nearest planetary nebula to our Solar System, located roughly 650 light years away. Based on its size, age and distance it is expanding in size at 19 miles per second. My back of the envelope math estimates that is as fast as traveling to the moon in under 3.5 minutes.
Equipment:
RASA 8
iOptron GEM45
ZWO ASI294MC-Pro
ZWO Asiair Pro
Optolong L-Pro filter
Details:
Location – Chris’s property in Idaho
Bortle Class 3
Gain 120
120 60-second Lights
30 Darks
30 Bias
30 Dark Flats
Astro Pixel Processor
StarNet++
Lightroom
Photoshop
#astrophotography #astronomy #comos #nightphotography #space #telescope #deepsky #asi294mcpro #amateurastronomy #backyardastronomy #asiair #asiairpro #rasa #celestron #ioptrongem45 #astropixelprocessor #optolong #deepskyobject #zwo #longexposurephotography #astronomyphotography #IC7293 #HelixNebula #Eyeofgod #Eyeofgodnebula
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North America Nebula (NGC 7000) and the Cygnus Wall, 07/22/2021
Several weeks ago I set up the telescope in the driveway to work out some issues I was having. I pointed at an object in a region of the sky I could see between the trees for a few hours. I wasn’t thinking I was going to get an image worth sharing but after I processed it, I was pleasantly surprised.
This is part of the North America Nebula (NGC 7000). It is found near the star Deneb in the constellation Cygnus. It is one of the few nebulae that’s distance has been accurately measured. The Gaia astrometry satellite calculated 395 stars within the nebulosity to a precise distance of 2,590 light-years away.
The Cygnus Wall is the W-shaped area along the “East Coast” of the nebula and is a region of concentrated star formation. I think it looks like an eagle in flight from overhead.
Equipment:
RASA 8
iOptron GEM45
ZWO ASI294MC-Pro
ZWO Asiair Pro
Optolong L-eHhance filter
Details:
Location – My driveway
Bortle Class 7
Gain 120
160 60-second Lights
60 Darks
60 Bias
60 Flats
Astro Pixel Processor
StarNet++
Lightroom
Photoshop
#astrophotography #astronomy #comos #nightphotography #space #telescope #deepsky #asi294mcpro #amateurastronomy #backyardastronomy #asiair #asiairpro #rasa #celestron #ioptrongem45 #astropixelprocessor #optolong #deepskyobject #zwo #longexposurephotography #astronomyphotography #NGC7000 #NorthAmericaNebula #CygnusWall
The Iris Nebula is a bright, large reflection nebula located approximately 1,300 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus.
Named for its resemblance to the iris flower, the Iris Nebula has a diameter of 6 light-years and occupies an area of 18 by 18 arcminutes of the apparent sky.
Equipement :
- Skywatcher HEQ5 pro
- William optics zenithstar61 II
- Flat 61A
- Willam optics UniGuide32
- ZWO AsiAir pro
- ZWO asi120mc
- ZWO asi294mm
- ZWO Electronic Filter Wheel 8x31mm
- ZWO Electronic Automatic Focuser
- ZWO Y spliter
- SHO-LRGB 6nm Baader c-mos optomised
- Kendircks dewheater 4"
- Kendricks dewheater 1.25"
Spec:
L: 120" x 47
R: 120" x 30
G: 120" x 30
B: 120" x 30
TOTAL INTEGRATION 4H30
Bortel 1
La Patrie Quebec, Canada
(15/04/2023)
-3/14/25 total lunar eclipse
Details:
-Stock Canon Rebel T7 on Star Adventurer Pro
-135mm Rokinon lens at f/11, ISO 800 and ~200 three-second exposures
-Moon images stacked using PIPP and AutoStakkert. Local edits made to moon to bring out details
-Star images stacked using DeepSkyStacker
-Final images combined and cropped in Photoshop
Flame Nebula (NGC 2024/Sh2-277) & Horsehead Nebula (B33)
ZWO ASI533MC PRO | William Optics ZenithStar 61II APO f/5.9 | iOptron SkyGuider Pro | ZWO ASI120MM Mini | William Optics UniGuide 32 | ZWO ASIAIR PRO
Integration Time: 1 hr 30 min
Gain 100 | f/5.9 | 5 min
Lights: 18 x 5 min
Darks: 100
Bias: 100
Objects in Frame:
Flame Nebula (NGC 2024/Sh2-277)
Horsehead Nebula (B33)
NGC 2023
IC 434
IC 435
Orion Nebula (M42/NGC 1976) and Running Man Nebula (Sh2-279)
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Location: Montclair, California, USA (Bortle 8)
Date: January 28, 2022
Moon: Waning Crescent (12%)
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC Pro
Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 61II APO f/5.9
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics FLAT61A Field Flattener
Filter: Optolong L-eXtreme 2”
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini
Guide Scope: William Optics UniGuide 32 f/3.75
Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Pro
Battery: Jackery Portable Power Station Explorer 300
Camera Settings: Gain 100 | f/5.9 | 10 sec, 30 sec, 180 sec
Acquisition: 39 x 10 sec; 40 x 30 sec; 97 x 180 sec
Integration Time: 5 hrs 17 min 30 sec
Software: PixInsight, Topaz Labs Denoise AI, Adobe Lightroom Classic
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Copyright © 2022 Steven K. Wu Photography. All Rights Reserved.
Globular Cluster M13, one of 150 similar objects orbiting the core of our Milky Way galaxy, is a ball of several hundred thousand stars packed into a 145-light-year sphere, at a distance of 22,000 light years from Earth. The much more distant galaxy NGC 6207 is at upper-right, 30 million light years from Earth, 1400 times further away than M13. North is to the right in this photo.
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC Pro
Telescope: @williamoptics ZenithStar 61II APO f/5.9
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics FLAT61A Field Flattener
Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6-R Pro
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini
Guide Scope: William Optics UniGuide 32 f/3.75
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Pro
Battery: @jackeryusa Portable Power Station Explorer 300
Orion Nebula (M42/NGC 1976) and Running Man Nebula (Sh2-279)
Starless red channel from integrated Ha + OIII with the Optolong L-eXtreme.
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Location: Montclair, California, USA (Bortle 8)
Date: January 28, 2022
Moon: Waning Crescent (12%)
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC Pro
Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 61II APO f/5.9
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics FLAT61A Field Flattener
Filter: Optolong L-eXtreme 2”
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini
Guide Scope: William Optics UniGuide 32 f/3.75
Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Pro
Battery: Jackery Portable Power Station Explorer 300
Camera Settings: Gain 100 | f/5.9 | 10 sec, 30 sec, 180 sec
Acquisition: 39 x 10 sec; 40 x 30 sec; 97 x 180 sec
Integration Time: 5 hrs 17 min 30 sec
Software: PixInsight, Topaz Labs Denoise AI, Adobe Lightroom Classic
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Copyright © 2022 Steven K. Wu Photography. All Rights Reserved.
The Veil Nebula Complex - (NGC 6960, NGC 6992, NGC 6974), 09/25/2021
I went to Ahsahka Idaho again last weekend but this time I just brought my small “travel” setup. This is just an astro-modified Canon DSLR, a 200mm lens and a star tracking mount. This system is definitely smaller, lighter and easier to travel with, but it is a bit more difficult to use and does not give the same results. But I enjoyed the challenge and had fun playing with it. I was able to spend one night capturing this region of the sky.
This is the Veil Nebula Complex. It is the remains of a Supernova that exploded between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago in the Cygnus Loop. This Complex covers an area of sky 36 times the area of the full moon.
Equipment:
Tamron 70-200mm
Canon T3i (Astro modified)
Sky Watcher Star Adventurer
ZWO Asiair
Astronomik CLS-CCD Filter
Details:
Location – Ahsahka Idaho
Bortle Class 3
ISO 3200
100 120-second Lights (3.33hr total)
10 Darks
10 Bias
Astro Pixel Processor
StarNet++
Lightroom
Photoshop
#astrophotography #astronomy #comos #nightphotography #space #telescope #deepsky #amateurastronomy #backyardastronomy #asiair #astropixelprocessor #deepskyobject #zwo #longexposurephotography #astronomyphotography #NGC6960 #NGC6996 #NGC6974 #easternveilnebula #westernveilnebula #pickeringstriangle
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The Triangulum Galaxy, also known as M33 or NGC598 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Triangulum. It lies only about 2,8 million light years away and is a member of the Local Group of galaxies, where also the Milky Way is. Because of its small distance, it's one of the brightest galaxies in the night sky. When you are far from cities in a place with almost no light pollution, you can see it even with the naked eye - in this case, it's the furthest object visible without a telescope. It is possible, that this galaxy is a satellite galaxy of the Andromeda Galaxy, but it's not still clear. It has about 60 thousand light years across and includes over 40 billion stars.
I took this image with a borrowed telescope Vixen 81S, which has excellent optics and doesn't need any coma corrector. It's only a side product from that night, when I tried to take my first asteroid (but haven't processed it yet), and in addition, I took it, when I was sleeping. I just left it in my backyard, because I had been so exhausted. 😅 So pretty happy with this image, there are crazy details, although it is made only from 2 hours of data!
Canon EOS 760D (unmodified)
Vixen 81S, EQ-5 mount
EXIF: 116x60sec (1 hour 56 minutes in total), ISO 3200
No calibration frames
Processed in DSS, Siril, StarNet++, and Photoshop
18/08/2023, Mašov, Czech Republic (Bortle 5)
COMMON NAME:
NAME:
PN G#:
CLASS:
TYPE:
MAGNITUDE:
CENTRAL STAR MAG.:
CONSTELLATION:
POSITION (2000.0):
URANOMETRIA 2000.0 MAP:
SIZE:
DISTANCE (parsecs):
REFERANCE:
DATE:
TIME:
PLACE: Moccasin Lake, Winston, Georgia
INSTRUMENT: 14 Inch (36 cm) Meade LX200 SCT
FOCAL RATIO: f/6.3
ACCESSORIES: Meade 0.63x reducer
MOUNT: Meade Fork
CAMERA: SBIG ST-1001 ccd
EXPOSURE:
SUBS:
ISO:
Nov. 7, 2004
Moccasin Lake, Winston, GA
14 inch f/10 SCT Meade LX200
SBIG ST-2002 ccd camera
30 sec subs, 18 frame
exposure 9 minutes
Cygnus
PK 080-6.1 = Egg Nebula
21 02.3 +36 42 (J2000.0)
30"x15"
14.0 mag; ---- mag CS
Type PPN
3,000 light years
Uranometria 2000.0 Map 47R
Orion Nebula (M42/NGC 1976) and Running Man Nebula (Sh2-279)
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Location: Cholla Cactus Garden, Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA (Bortle 4)
Date: January 28, 2022
Moon: Waning Crescent (12%)
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC Pro
Telescope: William Optics ZenithStar 61II APO f/5.9
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics FLAT61A Field Flattener
Filter: Astronomik L2 UV-IR Blocking 2”
Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini
Guide Scope: William Optics UniGuide 32 f/3.75
Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Pro
Battery: Jackery Portable Power Station Explorer 300
Camera Settings: Gain 100 | f/5.9 | 10 sec, 30 sec, 180 sec
20 x 10 sec = 3 min 20 sec
20 x 30 sec = 10 min
10 x 180 sec = 30 min
Integration Time: 43 min 20 sec
Software: PixInsight, Topaz Labs Denoise AI, Adobe Lightroom Classic
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Copyright © 2022 Steven K. Wu Photography. All Rights Reserved.
COMMON NAME:
NAME:
PN G#:
CLASS:
TYPE:
MAGNITUDE:
CENTRAL STAR MAG.:
CONSTELLATION:
POSITION (2000.0):
URANOMETRIA 2000.0 MAP:
SIZE:
DISTANCE (parsecs):
REFERANCE:
DATE:
TIME:
PLACE: Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, Namibia, Africa
INSTRUMENT: 12 Inch (30 cm) Meade LX200 SCT
FOCAL RATIO: f/6.3
ACCESSORIES: Meade 0.63x reducer
MOUNT: Meade Altazimut
CAMERA: Canon 60Da
EXPOSURE:
SUBS:
ISO:
Psychic TV (PTV3) @ Sala Apolo, Primavera Sound, Barcelona, 2016.05.30
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4QcWvf2qqEKp_hmEfQfkliAGl...
www.flickr.com/photos/deepskyobject/albums/72157668363430955
#ptv3 #psychictv #porridge #genesisporridge #salaapolo #apolo
#ps16 #primaverasound #primavera2016 #bcn #барселона
2200 years ago, when the photons of light left this nebula to reach us, the Earth was definitely another place. The cosmic time machine, the telescope, this time was pointed towards the constellation Cygnus, more precisely towards Sh2-119. Gas and dust envelop the main star, 68-Cygni being mostly responsible for the ionization of the gas around it. This ionization makes the gases all colored at different wavelengths, from blue to green, passing through all shades of brown and orange. The dark nebula filaments above contrast strongly with both the glow of the nebula and the rich field full of stars in the background. These filaments are clouds containing mostly gas (hydrogen and helium) and a minimal fraction of dust (about 1%), responsible for the appearance of the cloud. These dusts, although minimal, absorb the light, making the nebula completely dark. Sh2-119 is a celestial signature of an ancient explosion that released gas and dust into the universe, forming new stars and planets. The silk effect of the nebula makes us think of a white colored pillow in a bed of stars, but, among that dust, stars and planets are forming in the most violent and destructive processes.
The photo is the sum of 26 hours of exposures. Below some technical data:
Imaging Telescopes: Tecnosky 300 F3.4 Fast Newton
Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI6200MM Pro
Mount: iOptron CEM120
Lights:
Chroma H-alpha 3nm Bandpass 50 mm: 38×900″(9h 30′)
Chroma OIII 3nm Bandpass 50 mm: 35×900″(8h 45′)
Chroma SII 3nm Bandpass 50 mm: 28×900″(7h)
Psychic TV (PTV3) @ Sala Apolo, Primavera Sound, Barcelona, 2016.05.30
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4QcWvf2qqEKp_hmEfQfkliAGl...
www.flickr.com/photos/deepskyobject/albums/72157668363430955
#ptv3 #psychictv #porridge #genesisporridge #salaapolo #apolo
#ps16 #primaverasound #primavera2016 #bcn #барселона
The Flaming Star Nebula, also known as IC 405, is an emission nebula located in the constellation Auriga, approximately 1,500 light years away from Earth. This stunning celestial formation gets its name from the red and orange hues of the ionized hydrogen gas, which is illuminated by the central star, AE Aurigae. AE Aurigae is a massive and hot star and is believed to have been ejected from the Trapezium cluster in the Orion Nebula about 2,5 million years ago. You can see the nebula itself in the upper part of the image. It is created by the intricate network of dust lanes and filaments. It was first cataloged by the American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard in the early 20th century. In the center, there is also the Tadpole Nebula, which lies at a distance of 12400 light years and contains an open cluster. Further down, you can see the IC417 nebula and the open star cluster M38.
I took this image on the 18th of December last year when I was mainly collecting data for my seminar work including the measuring of a variable star. Nevertheless, I took about 140 minutes of data but was forced to use only 100 minutes because of a light cloudiness.
It is always a bit challenging to process such images because I use a cheap CLS filter which creates a strong red halo around all stars, which looks really disgusting and I have to eliminate them at least a bit in Photoshop. Unfortunately, I will be forced to buy a better filter in the future.
For the first time, I tried to stack the images in Siril which I really recommend for all of you. It is way easier to use compared to DSS and even does maybe a better job.
Canon EOS 1300D (modified), SVBony CLS filter
Sigma 135mm f/2.8
iOptron SkyGuider Pro
EXIF: 100x60sec, ISO 3200, f/5.6
Darks, flats, dark flats, biases
Processed in Siril, StarNet++, and Photoshop
18/12/2023, Mašov, Czech Republic (Bortle 5)
The Geminid meteor shower as seen under Bortle 4 skies
Details:
Background
-The background is one continuous 6.5 minute picture shot as f8 + 400 iso
Orion/star background (39 minute integration)
-Stock Canon Rebel T7 on Star Adventurer Pro
-14mm Rokinon lens at f/4.0, ISO 800 and 39 minute-long exposures stacked in Siril along with calibration frames (50 bias, 20 flats and 20 dark frames)
-Total integration time of 39 minutes
-Final stacked image histogram stretched in Photoshop
-Black and white filter applied
--Lowered contrast
Meteor pictures (90 minute integration)
-Stock Canon Rebel T7 on Star Adventurer Pro
-14mm Rokinon lens at f/2.8, ISO 3200 and about 500 10-second exposures
-After collection, I manually went through every picture and noted the ones that had meteors
-Overlaid meteor shots on background layer, masked, inverted and lightened the meteors
COMMON NAME:
NAME:
PN G#:
CLASS:
TYPE:
MAGNITUDE:
CENTRAL STAR MAG.:
CONSTELLATION:
POSITION (2000.0):
URANOMETRIA 2000.0 MAP:
SIZE:
DISTANCE (parsecs):
REFERANCE:
DATE:
TIME:
PLACE: Moccasin Lake, Winston, Georgia
INSTRUMENT: 14 Inch (36 cm) Meade LX200 SCT
FOCAL RATIO: f/6.3
ACCESSORIES: Meade 0.63x reducer
MOUNT: Orion HDX110 EQ-G
CAMERA: Canon 60Da
EXPOSURE:
SUBS:
ISO:
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MC Pro
Telescope: @williamoptics ZenithStar 61II APO f/5.9
Flattener/Reducer: William Optics FLAT61A Field Flattener
Mount: @skywatcherusa EQ6-R Pro
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini
Guide Scope: William Optics UniGuide 32 f/3.75
Focuser: ZWO EAF
Controller: ZWO ASIAIR Pro
Battery: @jackeryusa Portable Power Station Explorer 300
Lying 25 million light years from Earth, Messier 101 is a spiral disk of stars, dust and gas about 170,000 light years across, which is nearly twice the diameter of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The spiral arms contain large regions of star-forming nebulas. Imaged from the back garden in Colchester, my picture contains almost 600 x 20" exposures at ISO 1600, on a modified Nikon D750 DSLR, Sky-Watcher Explorer 150p, EQ5 Pro, via Stellarmate in Kstars/Ekos. Stacked in AstroPixelProcessor, cropped and adjusted in Photoshop and Lightroom.
IC 1396 - Elephant's Trunk Nebula.
293 x 120sec Lights
20 darks
ASI2600MC Pro -10 100 Gain
ASIAIr Pro
Skywatcher Star Adventurer GTi
Optonlong L-Pro Filter
Williams Optics RedCat51
Processed in PixInsight
Present Perfect 2020 @ St.Petersburg, Russia
Nina Kraviz, Shadowax (Mirabella Karyanova - Ishome), PTU, Nocow, Philipp Gorbachev, Mujuice, Moa Pillar, Flaty, Kedr Livanskiy, Sofia Rodina, Kate NV, ГШ, Vladimir Dubyshkin, Buttechno, Simple Symmetry, Errortica, Kovyazin D, Полиритм, Void Of Gene
Orion Constellation and Orion Nebula (M42). The Flame Nebula can also faintly be seen above Alnitak (leftmost star in Orion's belt).
Details:
-Canon Rebel T
7 on a fixed tripod
-18-55mm kit lens @f/3.5, ISO 800 and 130 six-second exposures stacked in Deep Sky Stacker along with calibration frames (50 bias, 30 dark, and 30 flat frames)
-Total integration time of 13 minutes
-Final stacked image histogram stretched, light-pollution gradient subtracted and color-corrected in Photoshop and Lightroom
Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31, NGC 224) is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth. It is approximately 220,000 light years across, and it is the largest galaxy of the Local Group.
Olympus 150mm 5.6 (40-150mm f/4-5.6)
Sky-Watcher HEQ5
Olympus E-PM2
25x60s @ ISO800 (25min)
Calibrated, registered, stacked in DeepSkyStacker.
Postprocessing in PS5.
Psychic TV (PTV3) @ Sala Apolo, Primavera Sound, Barcelona, 2016.05.30
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4QcWvf2qqEKp_hmEfQfkliAGl...
www.flickr.com/photos/deepskyobject/albums/72157668363430955
#ptv3 #psychictv #porridge #genesisporridge #salaapolo #apolo
#ps16 #primaverasound #primavera2016 #bcn #барселона
Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888), 08/04/2020
This is the Crescent Nebula, an emission nebula in the constellation of Cygnus. It is about 5000 light-years from earth, that is pretty close all things considered. Do you see that bright star in the middle of the nebula? That star is energizing the gas that was blown off into space when the star became a red giant. This left behind gas, absorbs the star light and then emits its own faint light that my camera is able to see.
Equipment:
RASA 8
CGEM-dx mount
ZWO ASI294MC-Pro
ZWO Asiair Pro
Optolong L-eHhance filter
Details:
Location – My back yard in Tacoma WA
Bortle Class 8
Gain 120
43 300-second Lights
60 Darks
60 Bias
60 Flats
Astro Pixel Processor
Lightroom
Photoshop
#astrophotography #astronomy #comos #nightphotography #space #telescope #deepsky #asi294mcpro #amateurastronomy #backyardastronomy #asiair #asiairpro #rasa #celestron #astropixelprocessor #optolong #telescope #astronomyphotography #deepskyobject #zwo #longexposurephotography #ngc6888 #crescentlnebula
This little gem - Messier 57 or NGC 6720 - is a planetary nebula in the constellation Lyra. "Planetary" is a misnomer based on early astronomers' misunderstandings of what such objects were. It is actually ionized gases shed from a star late in its life. Cropped from an image captured on an ASI585MC camera attached to my Sky-Watcher Explorer 150P in Colchester UK, with a ZWO UV/IR cut filter and Baader MPCC III coma corrector, on an EQ5 Pro mount, unguided. I shot 300 x 20" exposures at Gain 300, but a lot of them were useless because of passing clouds overnight. Here are the best stacked in Astro Pixel Processor and tweaked in Lightroom.
The fuzzball in the lower centre is Messier 87 or NGC 4486, an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo that is believed to contain several trillion stars. Strikingly it has a jet of plasma streaming out from its core, which you can just make out in my image. M87 also has a massive black hole in its centre - famously pictured by the Event Horizon Telescope team in 2021. My picture was imaged in the back garden in Colchester on a ZWO ASI585MC camera, with the light coming from a Sky-Watcher Explorer 150P telescope through Baader MPCC III coma corrector and ZWO UV/IR cut filter. I stacked the best 70% of 160 x 20" exposures at Gain 300 in Astro Pixel Processor and tweaked it in Photoshop and Lightroom.